Inscriptions: Epitaph for Memmius Hippocrates, horse doctor

Identification

Reference as:	MPL01013
Title	Epitaph for Memmius Hippocrates, horse doctor
Trismegistos-No.	869013

Object

Provenance and Location

Find Place	Anazarbos
Find Context	Found in Dilekkaya in the Western Necropolis of the city, 800m West of the city wall. Six tombstones of Roman soldiers belonging the unit of the Equites Singulares Augusti have been found in Anazarbos and they were station there probably between 197–202 and 217–218 d.C. to protect the emperor Septimius Severus. The horse physician to which the stele is dedicated was likely responsible for the care of the guard's horses.
Latitude	0.0
Longitude	0.0
Current Location	Dilekkaya, ruins of Anavarza
Inventory number
Current Location Details
Vicinity	[{"coords": [37.256, 35.8984], "id": 1013, "item_url": "https://db.mappola.eu/r/Inscriptions/show/1013", "long_id": "MPL01013", "place": "Anazarbos", "text": "\u1f39\u03c0\u03bf\u03ba\u03c1\u1f71\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03bf\u1f50 \u03ba\u03b5[\u1fd6] \u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f41 \u039a\u1f7d\u03ca\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f00\u03bb[\u03bb\u2019 \u1f45-]\u03b4\u03b5 \u03ba\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bc\u03b1\u03b9\u2026", "thumbnail_url": null, "title": "Epitaph for Memmius Hippocrates, horse doctor"}]

Object Details

Object Type	stele
Material	limestone
State of Preservation	fragmentary
Dimensions	width: 62.0 cm height: 126.0 cm depth: 21.0 cm
Letter Size in cm (min)	2.0
Letter Size in cm (max)	3.0
Execution Technique	chiselled
Religion

Decoration

Decoration and Iconography	This stele presents mortise and tenon joints. The inscription was carved within a recessed rectantgular field. The upper right corner is missing
Decoration Tags

Verse Layouts

Text

Function	funerary inscription
Language(s)	Greek
Verse Type(s)	Elegiac couplet
Rhythmisation	Quantitative scheme

Inscription & Translations

Diplomatic Interpretative Verse Visualisation

ΙΠΟΚΡΑΤΗΣΟΥΚΕ[]
ΝΟΣΟΚΩΙΟΣΑΛ[]
ΔΕΚΕΙΜΑΙΙΠΠΩΝ
ΙΗΤΗΡΜΕΜΜΙΟΣΙΠ
5ΠΟΚΡΑΤΗΣΕΤΗΣ
ΤΑΔΕΓΡΑΦΟΝΑΥ
ΤΟΣΕΜΑΥΤΩ
ΖΩΝΔΕΝΣΤΗΛΗ
ΕΧΑΡΑΞΑΤΥΠΟ
10ΥΣ

Ἱποκράτης οὐ κε[ῖ]
νος ὁ Κώϊος, ἀλ[λ’ ὅ-]
δε κεῖμαι ἵππων
ἰητὴρ Μέμμιος Ἱπ-
5ποκράτης· (ὀγδωκοντα)έτης
τάδ’ ἔγραφον αὐ-
τὸς ἐμαυτῷ
ζῶν δ’ ἐν στήλῃ
ἐχάραξα τύπο-
10υς.

Ἱποκράτης οὐ κε[ῖ] νος ὁ Κώϊος, ἀλ[λ’ ὅ]δε κεῖμαι
ἵππων ἰητὴρ Μέμμιος Ἱπποκράτης·
(ὀγδωκοντα)έτης τάδ’ ἔγραφον αὐτὸς ἐμαυτῷ
ζῶν δ’ ἐν στήλῃ ἐχάραξα τύπους.

Apparatus

Main Translation

Translation
Citation

Other Translations

Io che giaccio qui non sono il famoso Hippokrates di Kos, ma l’ippiatra Memmios Hippokrates. A ottant’anni scrivevo (facevo scrivere?) per me stesso questi versi e quando ero ancora in vita feci incidere i caratteri su una stele (Italian, Santin 2010)
Ich bin nicht jener berühmte Hippokrates aus Kos, sondern ich liege hier, der Pferdearzt Memmius Hippokrates. Im Alter von 80 Jaren habe ich dieses Epiramm für mich selbst gemacht und habe, noch zu Lebzeiten, die Buchstaben auf dem Grabstein einmeißeln lassen. (German, Sayar 2000 (IK Anazarbos, no.00069))

Prosopographical Information

Name Μέμμιος Ἱπποκράτης
Gender Male
Age Range Senile (61+) [expression: Non-canonical]
Profession Other profession
Role Dedicator

Name	Μέμμιος Ἱπποκράτης
Gender	Male
Age Range	Senile (61+) [expression: Non-canonical]
Profession	Other profession
Role	Dedicator

Further Information

Comment

Squeeze

Have Squeeze?	no

Dating

Date (From)	197 AD
Date (To)	218 AD
Date (Criteria)	history archaeology

Bibliography

I. Anazarbos 00069
SGO 19/17/02
M. Sayar, Der Pferdearzt Memmius Hippokrates, Epigraphica Anatolica 29 29 (1997), 107-110 (with photos) - SEG 47. 🔗 link
SEG 47, 01836.
E. Santin, “Autore nascosto o autore manifesto? il caso dell’epigramma per l’ippiatra Memmius Hippokrates (Anazarbos, Cilicia, prima metà del III secolo d.C.)”, Epigraphica Anatolica 43 (2010), 95-100. 🔗 link
PH311639 🔗 link

Images

Editing History

Created	2026-08-28, by Anna Martelli
Work Status	Complete
Import Notice

Revisions

by Unknown
at 2024-07-11 12:20
by Anna Pokorny
at 2024-07-31 22:22
by Chiara Cenati
at 2025-03-27 19:21
by Chiara Cenati
at 2026-01-15 12:49
by Chiara Cenati
at 2026-01-15 12:50
by Chiara Cenati
at 2026-07-31 08:42
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-03 14:22
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-03 14:43
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-03 15:54
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-03 15:54
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-03 15:56
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-03 15:57
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-03 16:03
by Chiara Cenati
at 2026-08-06 13:39
by Chiara Cenati
at 2026-08-06 13:51
by Chiara Cenati
at 2026-08-06 13:53
by Chiara Cenati
at 2026-08-06 13:55
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-10 10:12
by Anna Martelli
at 2026-08-28 11:30

Download

Download as XML